Kitchen Equipment

There are lots of cheap gadgets and silly bits of nonsense you can buy for the kitchen, but most of it is junk.

Save your money and invest in good quality items that are tried and tested and will last many years.

Here are our kitchen utenils that we particularly recommend.

.Coffee Maker

A bodum glass cafetierre for regular use and a stovetop aluminium espresso pot for special ocassions. Anything else is just unnecessary… Having said that, I succumbed to a Gaggia electronic coffee machine a couple of years ago and it is definitely the most used gadget in our kitchen. With it I can make wicked espressos and smooth cappucinos to delight both us and our guests.

Pots
Hard anodised saucepans of at least two sizes (3 or 4 is better)

Frying pan
We have two pans, a tiny one for omlettes and a 1950s stainless steel pan. The handle was replaced in the 1970s but other than that it is still as good as the day my mother bought it.

Cassarole dish
Le crueset cassarole dish is really well made and will last a lifetime.

Ice cream maker
An ice cream maker only gets used for a few days each year, but what days they are.

Large mixing bowl
Essential for cakes, get a big bowl (12 inches in diameter or more) made of porcelain.

silicone spatula
Silicone is definetely best.

knives
Get a good german knife set. Zwilling is the make we love.

whisk
Electric balloon whisks are essential unless you have arms like Swarzenegger

blender
A blessing for soup lovers.

Paella Pan
A huge two handled frying pan for making paella. Not by any means a necessity, but if you like Spanish food (and you have a cupboard large enough, then it might be worth the investment.

multichef
Buy the best one you can afford from a respected manufacturer

Breadmaker
A gadget rather than a necessity, but the breadmaker is one of the better gadgets